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The Suspect Fiona Barton
Posted on January 26, 2019 by wendycartmell
(Click cover to visit Amazon page)

When two eighteen-year-old girls go missing on their gap year in Thailand, their families are thrust into the international spotlight: desperate, bereft and frantic with worry.

Journalist Kate Waters always does everything she can to be first to the story, first with the exclusive, first to discover the truth – and this time is no exception. But she can’t help but think of her own son, who she hasn’t seen in two years, since he left home to go travelling. This time it’s personal.

And as the case of the missing girls unfolds, they will all find that even this far away, danger can lie closer to home than you might think . . .

This was a cleverly constructed, utterly absorbing mystery thriller. Kate is a strong character, who won’t take no for an answer, and pursues those answers even when things get very close to home indeed. Every mother’s nightmare is a lost child, of whatever age, and Ms Barton shows us the emotional cost on all the family members, not just the mother. It was a totally absorbing read, which I thoroughly enjoyed

another excellent read from the author Fiona Barton.. some books ii read I forget the content..age related probably however the widow and the suspect are 2 I do remember..

Kate Waters is back but this time the case she is investigating, two missing girls Alex and Rosie in Bangkok, has a more personal connection to her as she's not seen her own son Jake since he left to go travelling to Thailand two years ago. And with very sporadic contact from him, the odd phone call here or email there, it's no wonder that she jumps at the chance to fly to Bangkok to follow the leads, and maybe try and trace Jake whilst she's at it.

The story is told from the perspectives of three main characters; 'The Mother' - Alex's mother Lesley, 'The Journalist' - Kate, as well as 'The Detective' - Kate's friend and police contact DI Bob Sparkes. The short chapter and multiple narrative format worked really well to keep the tension and pace flowing and was an effective way of enabling us to be able to follow the story through from all angles, from the moment the missing persons call is received to the shocking conclusion of the story.

But we also get to see what the girls are experiencing in Thailand through Alex's Facebook posts which paint a glossy account of their adventures, and her emails to her best friend at home Mags which tells a completely different story, which reinforces the point that people's public and private profiles can tell different stories.... the one you want people to see versus the actual reality.

Kate is certainly an interesting character who was determined to get ahead of her fellow journalists by using her travelling son connection as an in with the families, but then we also get to see her fierce protective mother side when things start to take a bit of a surprising turn. At times I was shaking my head at her actions thinking she was going a step too far but then at the same time I was torn as I could totally understand her reasonings for doing what she was doing.

As for Bob, my heart was breaking for him when he found himself torn between being professional and investigating the case and what was going on back at home with his wife Eileen. It is a situation that no-one would ever want to be in and you could sense how conflicted he truly was.

For me The Suspect was Fiona Barton's best book to date so I'll be interested to see where her writing takes us next, another book featuring Kate and Bob Sparkes, or something completely new altogether. Let's hope we're not left waiting too long.

ks
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Sandy *The world could end while I was reading and I would never notice* Jones
Sandy *The world could end while I was reading and I would never notice* Jones's Reviews > The Suspect
The Suspect by Fiona Barton
The Suspect
by Fiona Barton (Goodreads Author)
30817744
Sandy *The world could end while I was reading and I would never notice* Jones's review Jan 25, 2019 · edit
it was amazing
bookshelves: 2019, netgalley-arc, 5-star, author-i-want-to-read-more-of, contemporary-fiction, crime, family-drama, favorites, murder-mystery, suspense

EXCERPT: She should have been on a beach by now but Rosie wouldn't budge. She was having too good a time to leave. And Alex was too nervous to continue alone. So she carried on writing variations on Alex O'Connor. . . is having the time of her life on her timeline and counted the Likes, the Loves, the funny comments from her friends and passing strangers. They helped bolster the fiction. She kept Alex O'Connor wishes she'd never come to herself.

ABOUT THIS BOOK: The police belonged to another world – the world they saw on the television or in the papers. Not theirs.

When two eighteen-year-old girls go missing on their gap year in Thailand, their families are thrust into the international spotlight: desperate, bereft and frantic with worry.

Journalist Kate Waters always does everything she can to be first to the story, first with the exclusive, first to discover the truth – and this time is no exception. But she can’t help but think of her own son, who she hasn’t seen in two years since he left home to go traveling. This time it’s personal.

And as the case of the missing girls unfolds, they will all find that even this far away, danger can lie closer to home than you might think.

MY THOUGHTS: It is 3 am. I couldn't go to sleep until I had finished this book. I didn't want to go to work yesterday. I wanted to stay home and read. I played hookey from the Friday staff lunch meeting to go sit in the Japanese garden and read. OMG! The Suspect by Fiona Barton is an absolutely delicious read.

And having just finished, my head is still spinning. Every time I thought I knew something, Fiona Barton turned me round and sent me off in another direction. Brilliant!

Barton deals with a whole host of different issues while providing us with a slow burning, suspenseful story of two girls who go missing on their gap year OE: the fake lives we post on social media, the pressures we place on our children to 'succeed', the tourist scams that occur in countries like Thailand, the easy availability of drugs, drink spiking, identity theft, the lengths we go to to protect our children . . . the list goes on.

The story is told from multiple points of view: from that of Alex (this was her dream trip), the Mother (Alex's mother and, by extension, Rosie's mother), the Detective (who has a major drama going on in his own life), and the Reporter (who has a personal connection to the story). As the current story of the search for the two girls is told, it is interspersed with Alex's story of what really happened.

The Suspect is the first book of my reading year where I am going to be saying 'OMG, you just have to read this!'

I read and adored Barton's first book, The Widow. I somehow missed her second book The Child. But after finishing The Suspect, the first thing I did was order a copy. Fiona Barton is firmly on my favorite author list.

💖💕💖💕💖

THE AUTHOR: My career has taken some surprising twists and turns over the years. I have been a journalist - senior writer at the Daily Mail, news editor at the Daily Telegraph, and chief reporter at The Mail on Sunday, where I won Reporter of the Year at the National Press Awards, gave up my job to volunteer in Sri Lanka and since 2008, have trained and worked with exiled and threatened journalists all over the world.
But through it all, a story was cooking in my head. As a national newspaper journalist covering notorious crimes and trials, I found myself wondering what the families of those accused really knew – or allowed themselves to know.
My husband and I are living the good life in south-west France, where I am writing in bed, early in the morning when the only distraction is our cockerel, Sparky, crowing.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Random House UK, Transworld Publishers, Bantam Press via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of The Suspect for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

Please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com for an explanation of my rating system. This review and others are also published on my page sandysbookaday.wordpress.com https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...

3.5 Stars Rounded to 4.

27th July, 2014 – Eighteen year-old friends, Alexandra O’Connor and Rosie Shaw land in Bangkok, for the holiday of a lifetime, backpacking around Thailand.

15th August, 2014 – Back home in the UK, Lesley and Malcolm O'Connor are worried. They haven't heard from either of the girls for a week. Their daughter’s last text message said they were still in Bangkok. She had promised to phone on the 14th – the day of her A-level results – as they were planning to open the envelope together. There’s no way she would've forgotten? They make the decision to ring the police and report the teenagers missing.

18th August, 2014 – Sees reporter, Kate Walters, travelling to Bangkok to trace Alex and Rosie's movements. Alex's Facebook posts made it sound like they were having a grand old time, but were they really? Why were they so behind on their travel itinerary? They had only intended to spend a few days in Thailand's Capital? What were they still doing there?

The premise, two teenagers missing in a foreign country, far from home, potentially victims of a crime, had me eager to start reading, as it's something a bit different from the norm. Having a large portion of the investigation unfold from a reporter’s perspective was also unique and interesting, and I enjoyed the up close and personal look into chasing a story, interviewing witnesses and trying to keep one step ahead of other reporters following the same trail. This coupled with the fact that a lot of the novel was set in Bangkok, with reporters and British police facing language, cultural, and political barriers, increased my excitement.

Prepare yourself for some sad moments, I was blinking back tears – both emotional and frustrated – quite a few times, in regards to Alex and Rosie and their situation, as well as the personal lives of various characters. My frustration was over the girls poor choices, and if only one, or both, had of just contacted their parents things could've gone so differently. I can understand it from their POV though – this trip was their first taste of independence, their parents had put their trust in them, and they wanted to try and sort it out themselves, were embarrassed to ask their parents for help, as to do so was seen in their eyes as an admission of failure.

The narrative alternated between four distinctive, equally important, points-of-view ‘The Mother’(Lesley O'Connor), ‘The Reporter’ (Kate Walters), and ‘The Detective’ (Di Bob Sparkes) in the present, and ‘Bangkok’ (Alex's POV, starting the day the girls arrived in Thailand, and working forward) interspersed with emails, and social media posts. As I understand it, Kate and Bob appeared in Barton's two previous novels, ‘The Widow’, and ‘The Child’, which I'm looking forward to reading as I enjoyed both characters immensely.

A couple of plot developments involving passports and travelling seemed somewhat unbelievable, especially when you consider this was set in 2014, post-911. And then we get to the final plot twist, which left me feeling conflicted. I personally hated it, felt it was out of character, and not how I wanted the book to end, but I cannot deny that it was unexpected, left me with a lot to think about, and has me eagerly anticipating the next book in the series.

SPOILER!
I hope there will be consequences/fallout for Jake's and Kate's actions in book 4, given these are recurring characters. Even though he was her son, it’s hard for me to get my head around why Kate would cover up for Jake, knowing the intimate details of what those poor girls went through, having spent time with their grieving families, and on top of that she’s lying to her own husband, as well as police. I was really enjoying her character up until that point, but now my opinion of her has drastically altered, and I cannot condone her behaviour. I believe Jake is rotten to the core and fully deserves to be punished for his actions. Not only for his part in covering up Rosie's death, but also because he DID NOTHING to help Alex, a person he claimed to care about, when she was stumbling around terrified, alone, and vulnerable after being drugged by Jamie. He wasn’t even sorry, was just happy he's in the clear, free to get on with his life. Just my five cents. As I said, a thought-provoking final few chapters, that I can't shake.
END OF SPOILER!

My first read by Fiona Barton was largely successful. Look forward to the next installment!

I'd like to thank Netgalley, Random House UK, Transworld Publis¬hers. and Fiona Barton for the opportunity to read this e-ARC.

Review posted on Goodreads, Amazon, Instagram, and Auckland Libraries by NZLisaM.

I really enjoyed this book, there were lots of twists. A quick read. Would read more from this author.

I need to stop reading good books. I’m supposed to be doing preparation for starting my PhD, but these fantastic books keep holding all my attention!
I can’t believe how quickly I read this book; I just devoured it. It really keeps your attention. The interspersed little tidbits of the girls that have gone missing’s side of the story are so few, and far between that you just want to keep reading to get to these parts, so you know what really happened.
I was quite surprised that we were getting a revisit from some of the characters from ‘The Child’ (the only other Fiona Barton book I have read). I thought the reporter and detective had been specific for that book and didn’t realise they were recurring characters throughout her books, so it was nice to reacquaint myself with them.
The twists and turns keep coming towards the end, and I don’t foresee most of them! It’s a sad story as you know it can’t have a real happy ending, but you still want to know what happened just as the girl’s parents did.

This was absolutely up my alley. I would highly recommend it to those loving thrillers with international locations and wild turns of events that spin over different times and places. The fact that the characters were so twisty was only the cream on the cake.

The writing is solid and pacey. This book is almost a one-nighter!

Thank you Random House UK, Transworld Publishers and Bantam Press for the chance to read this in exchange for my honest review.

Reporter Kate Waters is back. This time she investigates the disappearance of Alex and Rosie, two young women who went missing in Thailand during their gap year. Their parents are very worried about them and, with no other exciting story to make the headlines, Kate wants to discover what happened to them, but soon things take a personal turn for her.

Even though it’s the third book that has as protagonist journalist Kate Waters, THE SUSPECT can perfectly be read as a stand-alone. The story is told from different points of views. Kate is a brilliant reporter who doesn’t stop until she finds out the truth. She knows how to talk to families and how to get the police to reveal things to her. Without hesitation, she travels to Thailand to find out what happened to Alex and Rosie, but she has also her personal reason to go: she hopes to find her son Jake who left university to find himself in Thailand and she hasn’t heard from him in two months. In the meantime, DI Sparkes is investigating the girls’ disappearance from England, but he has his own personal problems to deal with as his wife has cancer. Then we have Lesley’s point of view. She is Alex’s mother. She doesn’t stop until she finds out what happened to her daughter and it was painful to read this mother’s worry, distress, and grief to her daughter’s disappearance. However, Alex’s point of view was the hardest to read. She is a young girl full of expectations and curiosity. She’s been planning her trip to Thailand for months, but, right from the beginning, things don’t go as she hoped. As I read her narrative, her frustration at Rosie, her disappointment in the whole trip, I really felt for her.

Fiona Barton masterly portrays three mothers who only see the good in their children, no matter what is the truth, three mothers who are ready to do anything to find their children, including traveling in a foreign country and dealing with a police force that is not cooperative and journalists who twist the truth to sell more copies. They are determined and brave. They are likable and realistic and the descriptions of their panic and concern makes them more human.

Once again, Fiona Barton didn’t disappoint. After The Widow and The Child, she returns with a thrilling, dark, and riveting novel that captivated me from the first to the very last page and a final revelation that completely took me by surprise.

There can’t be many parents alive who have sons and daughters of a certain age who don’t feel mixed emotions should that child in any way be considering some time ‘travelling.’ It happened to me although my darling daughter had been to uni and lived independently while working and saving to go on her own adventure. On the one hand I was thrilled that she wanted to see how others live and at the same time to expand her own horizons and gain some experiences that I never had. On the other is that unease that it is so far away, in a place where the culture and rules are different and with the knowledge that not everyone you meet in life wishes you well.

I was therefore very pleased that those worrying days are now in the past but I can’t deny that aspects of The Suspect bought back those unstated fears so perhaps if you have a child either contemplating or travelling at the moment, postpone reading this one.

Alex has always wanted to travel with her very best friend and during the last year at school they planned their trip including all the must-see places in Thailand within its detailed itinerary. Then her best friend had to pull out but Rosie who lived down the road was able to find the money which meant Alex had someone to go with and after all an adventure is an adventure, right? And then things go wrong. No one hears from either Alex or Rosie on the day of their A Level results, or afterwards.

The story, as in the previous two books is told in part from the viewpoint of the reporter Kate Waters although perhaps this is the one story that gets far too close to home for comfort as her son is also travelling in Thailand. Also present is the police officer Bob Sparkes and for once we have an author who doesn’t go in for the outright hostility between the two professions but illustrates a more pragmatic relationship between the pair. We also hear from the parents of the two girls. Multiple viewpoints have become far more common in crime fiction but this is an author who uses them to the best advantage. Not once did I feel we were swapping the point of view to deliberately raise the tension (although there is no doubt that there is plenty of that too) but as the stories become more and more entwined these multiple viewpoints alongside Alex’s secret emails paint an entirely different picture than the telephone calls and social media postings had of the truth about the girl’s trip.

This was totally gripping and I felt that the viewpoints of all the mothers that featured in this book were real women. There are times when I feel the primeval emotion we feel about our children are often overblown, here we had the mixture of emotions that I’m sure is far more realistic and the book was all the more powerful for it.

I really don’t think the books need to be read in order, each working exceptionally well as a standalone read but as they are all five-star reads as far as I’m concerned I’m not sure why you wouldn’t!

I’d like to say a huge thank you to Random House UK for giving me a copy of The Suspect ahead of publication on 24 January 2019. This unbiased review is my thanks to them and the author for such an engaging read.

The Suspect is the third outing for journalist Kate Waters and represents everything we have come to know and love about Ms Barton's books: intriguing, well-drawn characters who propel the plot forward, well-executed storylines, a brisk pace and a guaranteed good time; this book is no exception. The chapters alternate between the different perspectives of the major players in the story, but it is evident right away which character is talking because they are very much like real people - easily distinguishable - which shows deft characterisation. It is well written, engaging as ever, and although I guessed where it was heading it didn't ruin my enjoyment.

Barton goes above and beyond other writers to ensure the reader cares for characters by introducing emotion into this gritty crime drama. Despite this being the third novel in the Kate Waters series each of them work well on their own as the main story is self-contained. However, you will not be privy to recurring characters' minor/sub-plots but it isn't essential to appreciating this book. What makes this work so beautifully executed is the structure of the story and it being told from numerous viewpoints as we see how different characters react to the same situations. Needless to say, it was riveting.

Many thanks to Bantam Press for an ARC.

This story had me hooked from page one, another triumph from Fiona Barton.

When two teenagers go missing in Thailand it’s Kate Waters whose story sets in motion an outpouring of public appeals for them to make contact. Whilst investigating their disappearance the topic becomes, suddenly, rather close for comfort.

The chapters alternate between the main characters, headings indicate who is telling each element of the story but the characters had such clear voices that these were a bonus not a necessity.

The personal stories of returning characters was opened up in this book and difficult circumstances handled elegantly.

The story moves along at a great pace and whilst I predicted some of the twists and turns this did not detract from my pleasure in reading this book. I was a little unsure of the ending as, until this point, Kate has been so determined to fight for truth and justice but it does make you ask the question; how far will a mother go to protect her young?

I have been waiting for this since The Child, I love this series and this instalment did not disappoint. My emotions caused by the twists were enough to make me put down the book. I was put off at first by the plot which features missing backpackers in Thailand, however this just added to the adventure and character development.
Is it too early to start waiting for the next one?

I loved this book and read it in a couple of days.
Each chapter is from a different character points of view. Although it is the 3rd book in a series and it makes points to the others but it doesn't contain spoilers for the first 2 so you can read them out of order.
The twists and turns come thick and fast right to the end. would certainly recommend this book. I want to thank NetGalley and the publishers for a advanced copy for a review.

​I read and reviewed Fiona Barton’s debut novel, The Widow, some time ago and was astonished by her ability to make a subject no-one wants to think about so compelling. She does the same with The Suspect: it is a family’s worst nightmare that their daughter or sister go missing abroad, but the plot is so well constructed that I could not help but wonder what had happened to them. This is heightened by the chapters that are set in Thailand , as the reader is shown exactly what the girls got up to day by day. The tension made me turn pages until the end.
The characterisation is also brilliant. Each chapter is written from a different perspective: either that of journalist, the mother of one of the missing girls or the detective in charge of the case. They each have personal issues which affect their involvement in the story, and this gave them an extra layer to their character. I enjoyed gaining a deeper understanding of their mindset, and Barton does a great job of walking in their shoes so that the reader really gets to know them.
The Suspect is actually the third in a series, with The Child coming between this and The Widow. I had not realised this at the start, so I have read slightly out of order, but whilst there are references to previous books, there are no spoilers, so this novel could easily be read as a standalone. That said, I hope there is more to come from Kate in the future!

Alex and Rosie are fresh out of college and have left for the holiday of a lifetime, travelling in their gap year around Thailand, until suddenly they are missing! Their parents are completely frantic and sick with worry.

Reporter Kate Waters is straight on the case, her own son left 2 years ago to go travelling in Thailand and it's a while since she's heard from him.

"And as the case of the missing girls unfolds, they will all find that even this far away... danger can lie closer to home than you might think..."

Firstly, wow, I really couldn't put this down at all, it was such a shame that I had to go to work or even speak to people :) I also want to say thank you to Netgalley, publishers and the author for this ARC.

It is written in the different viewpoints of the characters, each one telling their own versions of the story - it is this style that makes the whole story gel together but be able to twist and turn unexpectedly! The characters were completely believable and easy to relate to.

I really enjoyed this read and would recommend to anybody who loves crime, mystery or a thriller. A definite worthy 5 star read!

This story is told on two strands. Firstly what actually happened, told alongside with the aftermath and search for the truth. As events unfold it turns out the character of many people involved isn't as it originally appears. An intriguing read.

This is my fair and honest review as promised for this ARC. Definitely not my normal genre however, it was such an engrossing story! I switches back and forth between the main characters and at first it kinda put me off. The longer I read, the more into the tale and the way it was written I became. Definitely worth a read!

*Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Books for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.* What a book! I was hooked from the very first page and found myself heavily invested in the characters. This is the third book in the Kate Water series, following the excellent publications 'The Widow' and 'The Child'. I must say, the books are getting better and better. The book centres around two young British girls, Alex and Rosie, who are on the trip of a lifetime during their gap year in Thailand. Something goes wrong, however, and their friends and family do not hear them for days. Journalist Kate Waters starts to investigate the story, only to find herself and her family becoming the story. A brilliant insight into family relations, the power of the media and the dangers and temptations of youth. I tore through this book and am keen to read whatever Fiona Barton publishes next.

This is the perfect thriller by one of my favourite authors. I loved the style of writing that jumped between 3 of the main characters in the book. The story is thoroughly engrossing and the whilst the ending may be a little predictable, it is well written and hugely entertaining.
I’d recommend to anyone who likes this style of book.